COMMENT
The economic impact of Covid-19 on the Bay of Plenty may not be as significant as originally anticipated.
That's what a report released this week concluded. It said GDP would contract by 7.3 per cent to March 2021, compared with the 8 per cent expected in the national economy.
It said the region's strong agriculture, horticulture and export sectors would reduce the economic impacts.
All positive so far.
But areas like Rotorua face a much greater impact because of the city's strong focus on the tourism sector.
While of course we can look at the positives and be heartened by the report, it's important to remember that any economic impact, whether large or small, is still an impact.
There will still be lives and livelihoods affected. Businesses closed, jobs and work lost.
The Bay of Plenty already has the highest Māori unemployment rate in the country at 10.3 per cent for the March quarter. There are fears that will rise.
While the outlook for the region may be more positive than elsewhere, we should still brace ourselves.
And as Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder put it this week: "A downturn means lost jobs and the personal impact of that can't be measured in these sorts of statistics."
It's important local councils and the Government continue to bolster the economy.
It's a big year for the Government with an election fast-approaching. So far the way the Prime Minister has handled the pandemic has been praised.
With the number of new Covid-19 cases each day regularly at zero, now the hard work begins - recovery.
Rotorua Lakes Council has put forward seven "shovel-ready" projects worth $210 million for consideration.
Tauranga City Council has put forward 24 city projects totalling more than $1 billion for funding consideration.
The projects in both areas are expected to boost the local economy for years to come and create a raft of jobs.
It's important the Government makes a decision on these projects sooner rather than later to get the economy moving, both locally and nationally.
Economic recovery is the next big challenge for the Government, both locally and nationally.